In the maturation of a tight oil reservoir, the conversion of kerogen to oil and gas typically involves the formation of a heavy, immobile intermediate referred to as bitumen. Bitumen is typically present at varying levels as a component in tight oil reservoirs. Residual bitumen can clog pores in the rock and especially pores hosted in the kerogen. As a result, the quantity of bitumen in a reservoir rock can have a dramatic effect on the permeability and, therefore, on overall reservoir quality.
Known methods for quantifying bitumen levels in rocks samples exist, such as Soxhlet extraction. However, such conventional techniques are relatively time consuming.